The Two Sams: Ghost Stories

Book Description

With this unique collection, acclaimed author Glen Hirshberg breathes new life into an age-old literary tradition. In the title story a husband struggles with the grief and confusion of losing two children, and forms an odd bond with the infant spectrals that visit him in the night. “Dancing Men” depicts one of the creepiest rites of passage in recent memory when a boy visits his deranged grandfather in the New Mexico desert. “Struwwelpeter” introduces us to a brilliant, treacherous adolescent whose violent tendencies and reckless mischief reach a sinister pinnacle as Halloween descends on a rundown Pacific Northwest fishing village. Tormented by his guilty conscience, a young man plumbs the depths of atonement as he and his favorite cousin commune with the almighty Hawaiian surf in “Shipwreck Beach.” In “Mr. Dark’s Carnival,” a college professor confronts his own dark places in the form of a mysterious haunted house steeped in the folklore of grisly badlands justice.

Customer Reviews:

One of The Greats.......2007-09-24

This is the best collection of new short stories I've read since I discovered Thomas Ligotti some years ago. Hirshburg is every bit as good, but entirely different. Any fan of horror stories should buy this immediately. Let's hope he's more prolific than Ligotti.

Not to be missed!.......2006-12-13

This is a collection of short stories by an already celebrated author for his short fictions. In the ghost story genre Glen Hirshberg is truely the best american pen stylist since the first publication of Great Master Peter Straub, 30 years ago. Mr. Hirshberg gives a good quantity of new blood, always served in the most literary ways. These are all ghost stories but herein, there isn't any kind of repetition feeling. The only wrong note is that here, the blend is so good that this collection, at the end feels a little short. There is two ways to solve this problem. Either re-read that wonderful collection or read, The Snowman's Children, Mr. Hirshberg's first novel, also a gem on its own . Thanks, Glen! I can't wait for your new novel.

Literary horror of the highest order.......2004-10-09

The five novellas that make up The Two Sams are billed as ghost stories, but I would describe them more as haunting pieces of fiction, which is not necessarily the same thing. Glen Hirshberg has a wonderful writing style, one that has already earned him many award nominations in his young career. It's a mix of the classic and the modern, a sort of Henry James meets Ramsey Campbell, and in fact Campbell supplies the meritorious introduction to this collection. What you get here is the highest literary form of the dark tale.

There is a great deal of variety between the five long short stories collected here, but they all share a wonderful atmosphere and the underpinnings of well-constructed tales. They are not traditional ghost stories; indeed, they could best be described as psychological horror pieces that remind us once again that the most frightening ghosts are sometimes the ones inside our own heads.

The title story is the shortest and my least favorite of the bunch. It revolves around a father trying to deal with the history of two miscarried pregnancies as his wife's third pregnancy enters its final stages. Who can say what kind of connection a father might have to his children who were not to be? "Dancing Men" seems to garner the most critical acclaim among these stories, but this tale of a boy's very strange rite of passage, one linking the horrors his grandfather suffered in the Holocaust with Native American rituals, didn't evoke the same type of feelings the other stories evoked in me. "Shipwreck Beach" is an interesting story set just off the coast of a Hawaiian island. A young lady has come to see her cousin and friend for the first time since he got out of jail and moved to the islands. Her cousin has something to show her, a mysterious boat that sort of just appeared and cannot be sunk just off the coast. The most interesting aspect of this tale is the story that evolves from the young man's history, the mysterious culmination of which comes onboard the strangely otherworldly boat.

If you are looking for real scares, I would direct your attention to "Struwwelpter" and "Mr. Dark's Carnival." The first story is rather a strange one involving a youth's fascination with a mysterious old man's house and gardens, especially a bell that can reportedly raise the dead. The exploration of the house produces some potentially scary moments for the reader, and the story takes a strange and in some ways much more disturbing turn at the very end.

"Mr. Dark's Carnival" is, in my opinion, the best story by far in this collection. It is set in a college Montana town famous for its Halloween celebrations, much of the collective enthusiasm bound up in the local legend of a strange carnival of undisclosed horrors going back many years. The protagonist is a college professor who delights in teaching this local tradition to his students, and for years he has sought the opportunity to visit this ultimate Halloween haunted house experience -- if it actually exists. You have to be invited to the undisclosed location, and this year he receives what might be a genuine ticket to the supposedly legendary festivities. The whole atmosphere of the story is teeming with spooky potential, the experience as it is happening is fully capable of raising a few hairs on the back of your neck, and the ending hits you like a punch in the guts. I have to say, in all honesty, "Mr. Dark's Carnival" is one of the most impressive horror stories I have read in a long time.

If you have your doubts about the continued honing of the darker crafts of writing in this modern age, you will be especially pleased to sample the impressive wares of Glen Hirshberg. This guy is, as they say, going places -- and he is taking a deep sense of the rich history of the horror genre along with him.

Classic storytelling.......2004-05-04

Pull up a chair, start the fire, listen as the tales are told, and see if you sleep tonight. Being a sucker for a ghost story, I thought I'd get a quick scare, have a bit of fun and then put the book down with only a vague recollection of the tales. I couldn't have been more wrong. What I found was so psychologically shattering, it left me with a chill for days.

Centering on education and childhood fears, the fours stories connect and ambush the reader with a combined strike of terror and awe. The title story is heartbreaking and may come to revisit the reader for months, even years after. Each individual plot is so beguiling and intellectually chilling, they leave you breathless. Comfortable and warm, the atmosphere quietly switches gears so fast it's paralyzing.

The characters are deeply portrayed, filled with a delicacy and a history that has damaged them in some way. They soon begin to not only resonate, but also demand to be heard. The pace set in the story is slow and gentle with a build up of a speed so intense it leaves you gasping for air. Hirshberg's style of writing is measured and ingenious, always leaving the reader with his or her own explanations.

Here are five tale that are nominal and unconventional. Classic storytelling with a decisive twist. Perfect!

I give this book a 5 . Buy this book today, but don't forget the No Dose...I wish i hadn't!

Compelling storytelling........2004-04-20

Exhibiting the same compelling, richly textured storytelling style displayed in Hirshberg's noteworthy debut novel, The Snowman's Children, The Two Sams features five novellas that work satisfying variations on familiar themes. All are told in the first person.

The two most intriguing stories in the collection are the bittersweet title story, "The Two Sams," and the surreal "Mr. Dark's Carnival." "The Two Sams" features a troubled husband reflecting on the two miscarriages his wife has suffered-the character's sense of loss is palpable, the climax is profoundly moving. "Mr. Dark's Carnival" which, while evocative of Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is far, far darker, chronicles a college professor's disturbing Halloween encounter with a local legend.

Another tale set on Halloween night, "Struwwelpeter," is about a haunted house and the allure it holds for a troubled teenager. "Shipwreck Beach" is about the uneasy relationship between two cousins; as it's title indicates, it's about shipwrecks, both literal, and those some people make of their lives. Finally, "Dancing Men" provides a sensitive yet simultaneously harrowing look at some fallout from the central tragedy of our age, the Holocaust.

The enthusiasm Ramsey Campbell displays for Hirshberg's work in his introduction is justifiable-truly an "original and considerable talent," Hirshberg does indeed "bring enviable skills to his work," such as a "stylistic precision that comes of loving language, an unerring eye for character and the moments that define or reveal it," and "a keen sense not just of place but how light and the time of day transform his settings." As to Campbell's assertion that "history will hail him as a crucial contributor to the field," only time will tell. Based on the evidence in The Two Sams, the probability certainly seems high.

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THE TWO SAMS - GHOST STORIES
Glen Hirshberg
Manufacturer: Avalon Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OXJ63A

Book Description

When Conan puts Roganthus the Strongman out of commission in a street brawl he soon finds himself drawn in by the slender Sathilda and her pet panther as part of a travelling troupe. What starts as an innocent pastime turns into a deadly game when the circus is called to the Arena of the Stygian capital of Luxor. There they are forced to fight for their lives against exotic warriors and all manner of wild beasts. no one has yet survived the whims of the tyrannical Emperor Commodorus.And then there are the foul sorceries of the black-robed priests of the snake-god Set....

Customer Reviews:

Not a great book..........2006-04-16

I should first probably note that I read this book about 10 years ago, and I don't really recall all that much, except the profound pain I had penetrating my skull after finishing the book. I was just browsing Conan books after finishing the collection of Robert E. Howard's original stories, "The Conquering Sword of Conan" (absolutely incredible, by the way) when I came across this tragedy of a Conan story. Now, unless I'm completely off, this is the one where Conan somehow gets thrown into a colleseum and becomes a gladiator. Sounds a worthy tale for our Cimmerian warrior, right? Wrong. After the initial fight scenes, Conan somehow gets talking with a priest in the colleseum, who consequently CONVERTS CONAN TO PACIFISM. Read that sentence again and let it sink in. Conan, the irresistable elemental force who serves as the prototype for all barbarian heroes in modern sword and sorcery, begins to question his violent way of life. I don't remember how the story ends, but I'm sure it was pretty awful. The only positive point was the addition, near the begining, of the character "Roganthus the Strong Man". Thinking back, I'm not really sure why I liked this guy, perhaps it was just the comedic name. Anyway, what was Leonard Carpenter thinking? Shame on you sir. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were either drunk or suffering a mild concussion when you wrote this one.

One of the weakest Conan books.......2006-04-13

What first catches your attention is the terrible, stilted style of writing. Very flat with corny dialogue. Not enjoyable to read, more of a chore. Perhaps a younger reader may enjoy it for the simplified language, although there are some adult themes in the books. A real dud. Avoid it.

Russell Crowe...the Barbarian!.......2000-10-05

Well,....what can I say. The book is pretty weak. The plot would've been better suited to the Conan cartoon series (remember it?),seriously folks. I honestly can't see Conan staying that long in a city being a gladiator, no less. Also, he strikes me as too intelligent throughout the book. For example, in the arena, he orders them to form a phalanx! He's a barbarian from Cimmeria! How's he gonna know what a phalanx is? I thought the priests of Set might be cool,too, but they were more like Renaissance scientists or something. I only read this book because I want to read all of the Conan books. The end battle was cool, but that's about it. This wasn't one of the better books.

Conan goes to the Circus.......1998-09-01

If you leave out wars, battles, skirmishes, raids, self-defense and defending the weak and helpless, what need is there for sword fighting? Well, how about entertainment? That's right. In the Hyborian Age they didn't have Monday Night Football to watch. But what they did have was the next best thing -- Gladiators! Conan must be having a slow day (which resembles the starting pace of this book) when he decides to join a traveling circus troupe. Of course it's his code of honor dictating that, because he busted up the show's strongman, Conan should become the newest attraction. The troupe heads south to the newly renovated city of Luxur where they encounter one gladiatorial episode after another in the big Arena, trying to survive and hopefully, make a big enough profit to retire from show business. Would the Conan we all love and admire really stoop to killing for entertainment? The book is a decent read, and actually has some interesting character development but, nevertheless, is definitely NOT one of Carpenter's better efforts.

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Conan the Gladiator
Leonard Carpenter
Manufacturer: Tom Dougherty
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000LR8MC0

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Conan, The Gladiator
Leonard Carpenter
Manufacturer: New York: TOR, A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 1995
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O3OBHG

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CONAN THE GLADIATOR

Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H28ZGM

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FireTime

Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BP4ZEG

Average customer rating:
FireTime
Poul Anderson
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SCOT70

Average customer rating:
Firetime
Poul;b118 Anderson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JRD984

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Firetime

Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HUEL7Q

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Firetime

Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HUCNBM

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Firetime

Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HUEL80

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Firetime

Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HUCNEE

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Firetime

Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HUGJZ8

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An Early Cross Between Rachael Ray 2, 4, 6, 8 and Rachael Ray's Open House Cookbook

Yumm........Yummmm......Yummmmmm....

Get Togethers: Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals

Fast, easy and delicious!

Rachel multi-tasks!

Get Togethers: Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals
Rachael Ray
Manufacturer: Lake Isle Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Special Occasions | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books
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30-Minute Meals 2

Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook)

Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes

30-Minute Meals

Cooking 'Round the Clock: Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals

ASIN: 1891105116

Book Description

Rachel Ray puts the fun back into entertaining with this exciting collection of recipes, all designed to feed a crowd or smaller gathering in 30 minutes or less.

Customer Reviews:

An Early Cross Between Rachael Ray 2, 4, 6, 8 and Rachael Ray's Open House Cookbook.......2007-03-07

Some will call this book Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals 3. I beg to differ. In fact, Get Togethers is an earlier cross between two other superb Rachael Ray books, the recent 2, 4, 6, 8 (published in 2006) and the older Open House Cookbook (originally published in 1999 and reprinted in 2005).

What are the main differences? In the Open House Cookbook, Rachael is mostly looking at parties, holiday gatherings, and larger dinners. Since this is an early book, it leans heavily to Italian cuisine and spiced up versions of traditional American fare. In 2, 4, 6, 8, the perspective is from a couple who occasionally add 2, 4, or 6 people for some meals or don't mind having a leftover meal.

Get Togethers is also aimed at social occasions, but it has a focus more on the traditional sizes of serving 4-8. There are a few special dinners for two. Reflecting Rachael from 2003, this book is less based on Italian menus and provides more adventure in cuisines and seasonings.

If you want to throw a big party, Open House Cookbook provides more choices. If you want to do something special for two, 2, 4, 6, 8 has more choices.

I found the breakfast and brunch ranges in Get Togethers to be a limited, often built around frittatas and scrambled eggs. By comparison, the lunches are terrific for their range, imagination, and eye appeal. She also provides some excellent ways to provide snacks for cocktail parties and watching sports on television. Another section takes major holidays and provides fast ways to serve eight.

In terms of 30-minute thinking, I'm sure Rachael can do all of these menus in that amount of time. I'm also pretty sure I couldn't do any of the menus for 8 or more in 30 minutes. But I'm sure I could be done in less than an hour.

One of the best parts of the book comes in the beginning where she provides a list of prepared items you can use straight from the store and describes a number of ways to present your meal to dress up the occasion.

The book had a number of excellent menus and recipes that I recommend including:

Brunch alcoholic drinks; Southern comforts brunch; Tex-Mex brunch; Backyard bistro luncheon; Havana luncheon; Big burger lunch; High tea in low country; A dip in the Mediterranean; Snack attack party; Lite bites party; Seductive supper; Baja blowout; Seven samurai plus two; Meat and potatoes a deux; TV dinner for two; Express lane dinner date; Three cheers for chili; Couch coaches' nachos; Tailgate with gusto; Big wrap tailgate party; Halloween; Thanksgiving; Italian Thanksgiving; Everyday Thanksgiving; Happy Hanukkah; UK for a Queen; Cooking for 10 in 30; Night light; Positano dinner; Road to Morocco; Cooking for 10 in 30 Italian style; Cooking for 8 in 30 French style; and German heirloom.

The small, but elegant, number of photographs display lovely ways to present the recipes.

If you cannot afford to buy all three cookbooks, you'll probably find that Get Togethers will fit more of your entertaining needs than either of the others.

Yumm........Yummmm......Yummmmmm...........2007-01-27

More delicious RR recipes in 30 minutes or less. These are presented in menu form and are delish! I have made several and people rave about the food. Most of it is pretty good for you too! No shake and bake here, folks, this is the real deal. If you want to feel like you are eating out everyday,make these recipes. They are not difficult or weird....just REALLY TASTY!

Get Togethers: Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals.......2007-01-09

Book was a repurchase. When mother was visiting she fell in love with the book. Easy reading and good food. My wife gave her our copy. I had to replace it! Excellent book with great recipes for quick prepare real meals.

Fast, easy and delicious!.......2006-01-14

"Get Togethers" contain some wonderfully delicious recipes!
One just cannot go wrong with Rachael Ray. Talented as can be, she makes Cooking fun! I never bought recipe books while raising my children, too many ingredients (so I thought) & too much work with them running around. NOT SO! The Mother/Father of today can zip up a great meal fast with the children running around with Rachaels recipe's. Try it:-) betcha like it! Jeannie!

Rachel multi-tasks!.......2005-10-20

More fine, quick recipes from one of my favorite cooks. Rachel knows how to reduce a recipe to its basics without compromising the taste. On the day it arrived, we found a recipe that had to be shared -- the Chili Casserole. I look forward to trying most of the others. I go back to Rachel Ray's cookbooks time and again -- many of her recipes have become standards in my cooking. But she can sure multi-task! I rarely do one up in thirty minutes until I have done it several times.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Cookbook !.......1997-04-27

I received this book as a gift and tried almost every recipe in the book ! All recipes are easy to follow, fnu to make, and the results are outstanding ! Every recipe i tried from this book and from other books from the Look&Cook series were excellent and succeeded with no fault and problems ! I recommend this book for beginners and also for advanced cookers who want to enlarge their list of EXCELLENT recipes

Chocolate Desserts (Anne Willan's Look & Cook)

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When you want to wow them all...
I'll never make 2 trips to the store again!

Chocolate Desserts (Anne Willan's Look & Cook)
Anne Willan
Manufacturer: Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cakes | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 086318863X

Book Description

From airy chocolate souffl and sorbet to sumptuously rich cakes and crispy chocolate creme brulee, there's something for everyone in this superb collection--plus tips to ensure ravishing results!

Customer Reviews:

When you want to wow them all..........1999-03-05

Want to really impress someone? Try this book. It offers clear directions with plenty of photos. Some of the recipies are time consuming, so be sure to take note of Anne's time estimations before you commit to the recipie. If you are newer at cooking, it will probably take you longer to fix these impressive deserts the first time. The deserts are chocolate to the extreme. Very popular with my co-workers was the Speckled Chocolate Cake. The meringue based cake covered with chocolate required nearly 2 hours of work time to complete, but was impressive. Not for everyday cooking, but a good chice when you have a little time and a crowd to impress!

I'll never make 2 trips to the store again!.......1998-10-07

This book is wonderfully laid out. Not only is there the standard ingredients list, with the measurements and such, but there is a pictoral list, as well. That is, there's a picture of each of the ingredients that you'll need (and a picture of each utensil you'll need, too). It makes it very helpful when doing your shopping. No more missing items that are "hidden" in the ingredient list.

The author doesn't assume you know anything (which is great for me!). She has lots of "asides" where she'll go through how to load an icing tube, for example. If you already know, it's easy to skip, but if you don't, it's wonderful! Also, she gives pictures as the recipe is supposed to look at important points in the process (and sometimes a picture of what it's NOT supposed to look like!).

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Anne Willan's Look & Cook Chocolate Desserts - The Ultimate Step-by-step Guide To Mastering Today's Cooking
Anne Willan
Manufacturer: Dk: Dorling Kindersley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JZZJNY

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Anne Willian's Look & Cook Chocolate Desserts
Anne Willan
Manufacturer: RD Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGKZSM

Book Description

The eighth edition of Storybook Figurines, A "Charlton Standard Catalogue," is completely updated with recent releases and current market values. Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, and Beswick storybook figurines are illustrated and their technical data listed.

Thirty-two colour plates are disbursed throughout the book in eight page sections. The first two sections, or 16 pages, are devoted to the figures of Beatrix Potter. Almost all `BP' figures, along with their varieties (177 individual images) are illustrated to assist in identifying the different characters in your collection. The third 8-page colour section, is devoted to Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge storybook figures, 68 individual images, which may be used by the collector to assist in building a meaningful collection. The final eight page colour section covers the Royal Doulton issues of the Winnie the Pooh collection, 69 figures are illustrated in this group.

The main body of the catalogue, which includes the black and white images, the technical data, and prices, has been reviewed and updated to bring it current to 2005. Eight new releases were added to the Brambly Hedge chapter, while nine were added to the Winnie the Pooh section. Millennium Collectables added three new releases to their popular line of 20th Century Advertising Collectables.

The fast moving collectable market, brought on by the on-line auctions, is instrumental in the Storybook catalogue now being published on an annual basis. Price movements now dictate that if collectors wish to be current, they must have a current program.

Customer Reviews:

Royal Doulton Royal Albert Beswick (A Charlton Standard Catalogue; 8th Edition).......2005-08-22

This a very useful reference.

Book Description

A topic often overlooked in many bookbinding manuals is how to create headbands -- those decorative bands of silk or cotton which can be found fastened inside the top, and sometimes the bottom, of a book's spine. Greenfield and Hille, experienced hand bookbinders, have written this easy to use, step-by-step guide, showing how to create fourteen different styles of headbands.

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HEADBANDS, HOW TO WORK THEM
Jane and Jenny Hille Greenfield
Manufacturer: Oak Knoll Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TZOSEA

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Headbands: How to Work Them
Jane & Hilie, Jenny; Hille, Jenny Greenfiled
Manufacturer: Oak Knoll Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P73GU4

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Headbands: How to Work Them
Jane Breenfield
Manufacturer: Oak Knoll Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0938768190

Book Description

As Americans spend more time nesting in their homes, they strive to feather their nests with comfort and style without spending a lot of time or money in the process. The solution is to make it yourself. Popular TV personality and home dec expert Sally Cowan provides dozens of decorating ideas and easy-to-follow instructions for projects that add high fashion details to any home. From window treatments to pillows, bedrooms to bathrooms, home offices to motorhomes, there are home decorating projects to enliven any decor. Sally recommends fabrics, colors, and techniques to achieve stunning results and illustrates how dramatically easy and inexpensive accessories can change the look of a room.

Sally includes comprehensive information on fabrics, measuring, sewing, serging, and hand stitching, as well as step-by-step project instructions with photos and illustrations to help any home dec sewer achieve success, regardless of skill level.

-Window treatments. -Table and bed covers. -Pillows. -Tips for hard-to-decorate areas (home office, bathroom, motorhome).

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